“I am so proud of what these students have achieved with just a bit of support, mentoring and confidence in them that they can do it.

“Each of them contributed based on their strengths under the strong leadership of John Chen. John is only in year 12 and the project management skills he has demonstrated is far superior than some I have seen by people in the industry,” says Mistry.

“All of them have shown excellent leaderships skills and I can see our future leaders in this group.”

John Chen says it is extremely important to have a large range of individuals speaking at the first Y-Tech.

“Through this event, we wanted to provide students with the knowledge of the possible pathways that one can go on to enter the technology industry.

“Technology is such a broad and ever-changing industry, that is why we have entrepreneurial speakers such as Alexia Hilbertidou, Rudi Bublitz and Rab Heath; speakers from industry such as Ajay Blackshah and Husain Al-Badry.

“In this day in age where things like uploading our minds into computers and genetically engineering the perfect children becoming a real possibility, it can be difficult to know when to draw the line.

Frances Valintine of The Mind Lab

“Thus hearing what Ming Cheuk has to say on the ethics of technology is something we hope our audience would find interesting as well as relevant.”

“Talking to some of my friends at school, I realised that not many of us knew about the various fields of the tech industry,” notes Max Dang Vu, one of the student organisers.

“Those that knew, knew through articles on the internet or took computer sciences at senior high school level. Most of us were not educated thoroughly about AI, virtual reality, coding, CAD or robotics at a fundamental level, so we really didn't know just how much career options we had out there.

“It was only through OMGTech! that I realised tech is required in all career pathways, not just the tech industry.

“With the rapid evolution of the digital age, we feel that it is a calling for us to collaborate and share the knowledge that we have, that tech experts have to our peers so that they can make well-informed decisions on what to do after leaving school. That's how the idea of Y-Tech came about.”

It was only through OMGTech! that I realised tech is required in all career pathways, not just the tech industry.

Max Dang Vu

Kerry Topp, associate director, transformation and Innovation at Datacom, says the technology firm is delighted to support the event.

“The tech industry is growing dramatically and we need more talented young people joining the industry.”

He says it is important for ICT leaders to get engaged in this goal.

“It is all about diversity. My role is transformation and innovation, and that comes from having diversity in thinking and background,” he says. “You get the best outcome through having more diverse people in the organisation.”

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